Hope returns for students

Board allows SSC and HSC students to appear for their exams at nearby centres by calling up the helpline; NGOs distribute digests to those who have lost their books

Hope returns for students

Board allows SSC and HSC students to appear for their exams at nearby centres by calling up the helpline; NGOs distribute digests to those who have lost their books

Travellingu00a0a long way to give one's board exam is difficult for any student, but it is even more so for those who have just lost all their belongings, including the roof over their head, in a devastating fire.

Sigh of relief: NGOs are also urging people to donate clothes and food
to those affected by the fire at Garib Nagar. Pic/Sameer Markande

That is, however, exactly what happened to students appearing for their SSC exams from Garib Nagar in Bandra, who had to go all the way to Grant Road for the Hindi paper on Saturday, less than 12 hours after Friday's fire took away all they owned.

When MiD DAY spoke to Mumbai Divisional Board Secretary Ravindra Bhise, he said he would have arranged for the students to give their exam in a centre closer to their homes had he been approached. But students and teachers from the Kherwadi Municipal School, who went to the Grant Road centre with the students, said they had no idea of the provision.u00a0

Taking cognisance of the students' plight, Bhise has now offered to allow the students to do so if they contact the SSC board helpline. 40 SSC and six HSC students were affected by the fire, according to a survey by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIOI).

Geeta Subhedar, education officer, Kherwadi Municipal School, said, "Six children were devastated after the fire and were unwilling to give the exam, but we counselled them. We also sent one of our teachers to the Grant Road centre. We were unaware of the provision that students could, in such a situation, appear for the exam at any centre nearby. We took them to Grant Road to ensure that they did not miss their exam."

Bhise said, "The board has given instructions to all schools to allow these students to give the exam first and then collect their new hall tickets from the SSC board in Vashi. If these students had contacted me to make a provision for them to appear at a centre nearby, I would have helped them."

"I suggest they should now give Monday's exam in their original centre and later, if they find it difficult, they can call on our helpline number and ask for permission to appear for the exams at a nearby centre. We won't let these students be deprived of the chance to appear for their board exams." SIOI has put up a tent in Garib Nagar and has arranged for digests of all SSC and HSC subjects for students who lost their books in fire.

Khalil Khan (23), a Rizvi College student and SIOI member, said, "Our organisation helps people from our community in such situations. As soon we came to know about the disaster, 12 volunteers went to the spot to find out how many students were appearing for their SSC or HSC exams. We distributed forms for the digests to 40 SSC and six HSC. So far, 20 SSC and all six HSC students have collected the books from us. The remaining 20 SSC students will collect the digests tomorrow as they are studying at their relatives' houses."

Project Umeed, another NGO, has arranged for fire-affected people to rest at the nearby Kherwad Municipal School. They have also asked students appearing for their exams to study there. NGOs have also made an appeal through several mediums to get people to donate clothes and food to those who lost their house and belongings.